Adjustable door jamb



May 6, 1952 J. w. BACKMAN ADJUSTABLE DOOR JAMB Filed April 7, 1948 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 IN V EN TOR. fay/v 71. BA CKMAN,

JDZM ATTOQNEY.

y 1952 J. w. BACKMAN 2,595,506

ADJUSTABLE DOOR JAMB Filed April 7, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 I N V EN TOR. Z7514 WBACKMAN,

ATTORNEY.

Patented May 6, 1952 ADJUSTABLE DOOR JAMB John W. Backman, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Southern California Glass 00., Inc., a corporation of California Application April 7, 1948, Serial No. 19,543

3 Claims. (01. 189-46) In the hanging of hinged doors the difficulty is frequently encountered of either or both side walls of a doorway not being truly vertical, and hence, a door cannot be properly hung therein until the walls are made vertical or the door jambs secured to the walls so as to compensate for this defect. Even where the side walls of a doorway are exactly vertical to begin with, in time they become non-vertical by reason of warpage or settling of the wall or floor structure, so that the jambs are no longer vertical. This results in sagging of the door causing it to bind in the doorway and/or to prevent latching of the door. Especially does this condition arise in the doorways of shower stalls where the surrounding structures are subjected to the dampening action of the water from the showers.

It is a purpose of my invention to provide a jamb for doors which is readily adjustable to compensate for any deviation fromthe vertical or either; side of a doorway, so that the amb as presented to a door is exactly vertical. In

practice my invention is preferably embodied in both the door-hanging jamb and the latch jamb, and thus a door can not only be properly hung, but when closed will be caused to properlyengage the latch jamb so that the latch bolt on the door can engage the keeper on the jamb to secure the door in closed position.

It is also a purpose of my invention to provide an adjustable door jamb particularly applicable to doors made up of extruded metallic frames with glass panels therein, such as shower stall doors. store doors and the like.

A further purpose of my invention is the provision of a door jamb embodying a pair of rails one of which is to be secured to a side wall of a doorway and the other of which confronts the door, and the latter rail so associated with the wall rail that it can be adjusted laterally to a true vertical position irrespective of the position of the wall rail in relation to the vertical.

I will describe only one form of adjustable jamb embodying my invention and as applied to one form of doorway and door, and will then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

. In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a shower stall and door therefor having applied thereto one form of adjustable jamb embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an exploded view showing in perspective the parts of the door jamb, the railsof which are shown fragmentarily. v 7 i Fig. 4 is an enlargedfragmentaryelevational view, partly in section, of one side walLof the doorway, the door, and that adjustable jamb upon which the door is hung. r l Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional viewtaken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 4, but with the door swung to open position, the corresponding fastening screw removed, and a screw-driver applied to the spacing element of the jamb for adjustment thereof. e l

With specific reference to the drawings and particularly to Fig. l, I have here shown a doorway W of a shower stall, and a door D hung in the doorway, the side walls i5- and iii of the latter having secured thereto adjustable jambs J and-J l constructed in accordancewithmy invention; Thedoor is hingedly hungon the jamb J and hence, will be referred to-here inafteras thehanging jamb distinguished from the jamb'J I which is the-latch or abutment jamb and as usual carries a keeper for-a latch on the door to latch the doorin closed position, neither of'which is shown -The door being for a shower stall ismade up-ofan ex: truded metal frame F containing a glass panel- F.

Each jamb J or Jl is made up of --a pairof rails R and RI, the rail R for the jamb J boing secured to the side wall l5 and the rail Rt transversely telescoped on the rail R andconfronting one side portion 1-! of the frame F. Both rails may be made of extruded metal, the rail R being of U-form in cross-section to provide parallel spaced flanges l8 and a connecting web IS the edges of which web are provided with coextensive ribs 20. The rail RI which is co-extensive in length with the rail R, is likewise of U-form in cross-section to provide parallel spaced flanges 2i connected by a web 22 having a co-extensive lip 23 on one edge thereof. The inner side of the web 22 has a plurality of longitudinally extending ribs 24 on its inner side which serve to reinforce the web and portions of which engage spacing elements as will be later described herein.

The spacing of the flanges 2i is such that the rail R can be slidably fitted transversely therebetween, and thus the rail RI -is telescopically mounted on rail R to allow adjustment thereof transversely on the rail R. The hanging jamb J is secured at intervals along its length to the wall [5 by fastening members 25 such as the screws illustrated, the webs I9 and 22 being formed with registering openings 26 and 21, respectively, through each pair of which a screw 25 freely extends for securing the rail R to the wall I5. Screw-threaded within each opening 26 is a spacing element 28 which may be in the form of a metal sleeve with transverse slots 29 in one end thereof. The tubular form of the element allows the respective screw 25 to be extended" freely through theelement and into the wall I so that it will not interfere with removal thereof when required.

Each element 28 and its respective screw 25 may be said to constitute an adjustingiunit' for the rail RI, and as illustrated in Fig. 1 there are three such units properly spaced along thelength of the rail. The door D is hung on the jamb J by a hinge H which is coextensive in length with the door and jamb, and withone. leaf thereof. secured to the side frame portion I1 and the other to the web 22.

Now if the wall I5 deviates from the vertical such as is illustrated in-Figs. 1- and 4', the rail R of the hanging j'amb-Jwill of'nec'es'sity occupy acorresponding position. To compensate for this deviation the rail RI can, by transverse adjustment thereof on the rail R, be caused" to assume a true verticalpositionso-that the-hinge H will" likewise occupy a vertical position, and thus the door can be properly hung in the doorway.

Such adjustment'of the rail RI is afforded by the" spacing elements 28 and in the following manner. The door D is first swung to open p'o'si-- tion (see Fig. 5)',-and the screw 25 for the-center adjusting unit is removed from the wall and jamb, as is illustrated in Fig. 5. This allows acmess to the respective spacing element 28 so that the-shank 30 ofa screw driver may be extended through the opening 21 and into the slots 29. By

now-turning the screw-driver in the proper direction the element 28 is screwed outwardly of therailR and this moves themedial portion-of ther'ail- RI outwardly through pressure on the ribs 24, so that the element 28 now acts as a fulcrum for the rail. This allows of'the' necessary lateral adjustments of the top and bottom units tobring the end portions of" the rail RI into vertical position, and such adjustments are performed successively by first removing the screws and then turning the spacing elements in: one direction or the other as the case re-- quires.

These adjustments are maintained by returning thescrews thereof into the rails and wall soas to holdtherail RI firmly'against-the spacing elements 28. Thefinal operation consists in adjusting the centerspacing element until the medial portion of the rail RI is brought into vertical position, and thus the rail is now positioned vertically from end to end so that the door as hungthereon by the hinge H will swing about a true vertical axis.

Should the other wall I6 of the doorway deviate from the vertical, the rail RI of'the latch jamb J I can be caused toassume a true vertical position through adjustment of the corresponding spacing elements 28- in the manner described in connection with the jamb J.

In this instance, the lip 23 actsas an abutment to" define the closed position of the door D, and the rail RI being in true vertical position, and the side frame portion I! being likewise in a-vertical position byreason of the afore- 4 described adjustment of the jamb J, it becomes clear that where the door is provided with the usual latch, and the rail RI with the usual keeper, the two are positioned to engage each other when the door is closed to latch the latter in such closed position. 1

Although I have herein shown. andidescribed only one form of adjustable door' jamb embodying my invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made:therein without departing from the spirit of my invention and the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I'claimt.

l". A' door jamb, including: a pair of rails telescoped'transversely one within the other; an element screw-threaded transversely in one rail and abutting the other rail; and a fastening member extending through said rails and said element and adapted to extend 1into*a=. side wall of a doorway'for. securingsthef rails to. said wall. and the rails" to" each. other in that: tel'escoped' spacedl relationship: as defined. by) adjustment of. said element in. its? respective rail}. saidi element being tubular: and having tool" receiving means in" that end abutting: said. other. rail for turning. the. elementto adjust the same: in -the': respective rail;

2. An adjustable: door." jamb construction adapted to'bermounted'inian opening in awall, comprising; a first rail having a plurality of. spaced holes transversely: therethr'ough: withthe Walls thereof threaded a second rail telescoping transversely on the first rail and provided withholes transversely alinedl with the holes inthe first rail: a tubular exteriorl y' threaded abut ment mounted iii-each" of the threaded holes in the first railand adjustable therein; and screws positioned" in the liolesin the: secondrail withtheir heads engaging the second rail and their shanks passing" freely through the tubular abutments and adapted" for threaded engagement with the wall so" that-under" adjustmentthereof the secondrail is brought into direct engagement with thetubular abutm'ent's whereby thedoor jamb is securely'h'elcragainst the-wall-of the door opening with the second rail held in' adjusted relation to the first" rail.

3: A door" jamb construction. as embodied in claim 2, wherein each of'said abutments has an inside diameter'less than that'of' the'respective hole in the'se'condrail and tool-receiving slots in the end thereof'confrontingthe hole'and accessible therethrougli by a screw-driver for turning theabutment;

JOHN WL BACKMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 

